There are two things I love – discovering hidden gems and Taiwanese food. My mum is half Taiwanese so I grew up eating a lot of the cuisine. While Taiwanese food is popular in Vancouver, it can be hard to find truly authentic Taiwanese fare. Some favourites that come to mind are A.BENTO and Memory Corner. One unassuming shop however, is making some big waves on Chinese social media in Vancouver. Rice Holic is a tiny little shop inside the Admiralty Centre food court in Richmond and they are whipping up some tasty eats. Check out my full Rice Holic review below!
Rice Holic – Main Dishes (Fried Rice and Fried Noodles)
My friends and I came by mid afternoon and the food court at Admiralty Center was busy. Many tables had dishes from Rice Holic and I would soon see why. From the menu we got:
- Golden Prawn Fried Rice (Salted Egg Yolk Sauce)
- Seafood and Crab Roe Stewed Noodles
These two dishes had the most rave reviews so of course we had to try. The Golden Prawn Fried Rice (Salted Egg Yolk Sauce) ($14.99) features plenty of flavorful shrimp on top of a fragrant salted egg yolk fried rice. It is a double dose of salted egg and I’m not mad about it. All of their bowls (from their very picture friendly menu) features a medley of vegetables including broccoli, cherry tomatoes, kabocha and red peppers. I really like this bowl! It is so hefty so for the price it is extremely worth it. The prawns were nice and springy and the fried rice and incredible wok hei.
The Seafood and Crab Roe Stewed Noodles ($12.99) features the same medley of vegetables as the fried rice, but also plenty of seafood including scallops, clams and prawns. The noodles are stewed so they are soft, but they still hold their shape. This was another generous portion and well worth the price.
Rice Holic – Sides
Not knowing how generous the main dishes were, we also got a few sides:
- Fried Turnip Cake (Hong Kong Style)
- Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken
- Taiwanese Meatball Soup
While I know the Fried Turnip Cake ($4.99) isn’t Taiwanese, I couldn’t resist after seeing several posts about it on social media. The order includes 4 generous (seeing a theme here?) slices of turnip cake and let me tell you it was so good. It honestly rivals my grandma’s version. The outside was nice and crispy and the inside you can see all the shreds of turnip! This is also served with the same medley of vegetables as the main. Ask for the chili sauce, it goes so well with this dish!
The Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken ($6.99) was good as well. There were several large pieces of deep fried dark chicken meat. It was moist and flavourful. A good standard Taiwanese dish.
To wash it all down we got the Taiwanese Meatball Soup ($4.99). A light broth with some meatballs cut up and soft chunks of daikon. It’s a light refreshing palette cleanser for all the stronger flavours from this meal.
Worth a Try?
Absolutely. Chinese social media rarely gets it wrong (no fake reviews here, just honest brutal truths). The food at Rice Holic, was filling, hearty and flavourful. I wouldn’t expect to find such beautiful plating in a food court but they really make a huge effort to ensure each dish looks just like their menu photos. On another note, the staff was so friendly! They made sure we had everything we needed, and answered my multitude of questions with a smile. Definitely go check out this hidden gem the next time you are in Richmond. Friendly reminder – CASH ONLY!
Rice Holic
Address: 8700 McKim Way unit 2178, Richmond, BC V6X 2H8 (Admiralty Centre)
Telephone: 604-238-5586
Website: https://www.facebook.com/RiceHolicVancouver/